Information for students preparing for their oral and written examinations in Anglo-American Studies

1. Staatsprüfung: Mündliche Prüfung, Klausurarbeit; BA Anglistik und Medienmanagement: Mündliche Prüfung; Magister Anglistik: Mündliche Prüfung, Schriftliche Prüfung Hauptfach

Students submit topics for their oral exams via Blackboard. Just log on to my Anglo-American Studies course and then use the sign-up sheets available as well as the blog via the discussions tool.

Sign-up sheets / blog for the oral exams from December 2012 to February 2013 will be available starting on 1 October 2012.

Oral exams: By using the Blackboard sign-up sheets you’ll know immediately which main topic you have. As soon as you've chosen your general topic via the sign-up sheets, you can immediately go to the discussions tool and by using a special blog then choose your subtopics. No two students can choose exactly the same two subtopics, but considering the fact that a maximum of only five students can choose the same main topic via the sign-up sheets and that there are many subtopics to choose from, I don't see a big problem here. 

If you want to play it safe, just choose subtopics that have been approved in previous semesters. Of course you're free to choose other subtopics, but please keep in mind that the subtopics shouldn't be too specific and that I will cover both Britain and the US in my questions on both subtopics. Topics can overlap, so "Northern Ireland conflict" for example was chosen and approved in the past for the main topic religion but could also be chosen for the main topic political life, just as school prayer has been approved for education but could also be a topic in religion.  Please post any questions or complaints in the special blog using Blackboard's discussions tool.

Please submit a cover sheet with a list of sources with annotations at least two weeks before your oral exam along with hard copies of the pages taken from all sources used (both copies from books and from the internet) to me using my university mailbox or leaving the material in the secretary's office (no e-mail attachments). Click here for three wonderful models of what superb cover sheets should look like with insightful relevant and very interesting annotations (thanks to Sonja, Claudia, and Martina). While a list of sources is obligatory for each candidate, questions — especially those dealing with basic general knowledge about the chosen topics — do not necessarily have to come from the sources candidates give. So only including very few sources does not give you an advantage in the exam! The purpose of this requirement is to help you organize your study time effectively and to help you choose appropriate material that you can actually read in time for the exam. You must turn in your list of sources with annotations at the same time as you turn in your hard copies. Students who copy large portions of books, who use only the basic handbooks with no other sources, who submit material almost exclusively about either only the UK or only the US, or who use old sources or sources in German can expect critical questions during the exam about their choice of sources. Of course you can supply sample questions you would like to be asked or a sample structure of the exam as you would like to have it; please do not expect me to use these samples during the real exam however. If you want to influence my questions, then provide me with interesting material!

Please be able to critique all the sources you have listed and please be able to put your topic into a larger cultural studies context. Use the experience you have all gained during the Anglo-American Studies courses in answering my favorite questions ("So what? Who cares?") while preparing for your oral exam.

Students who do not submit the required list of sources with annotations including hard copies of all sources as given above at least two weeks in advance of their exams can expect me to examine them on all aspects of their given topic including any other specialized areas of my choice. In the last few semesters for the first time in over ten years, a few students have not submitted their material on time, making the exam experience much more unpleasant for everyone concerned.

Written exams: You had the chance to vote for the three topics during the first 15 minutes of our colloquium on 25 October.

Topics for March 2013: media, minorities and immigration, social issues: the death penalty , at least one of which will be used in the exam.

Colloquium: You were all cordially invited to the Anglo-American Studies session on Thursday 25 October beginning at 4:00 (room announced in KLIPS) with a list of concrete questions that you would expect and prefer in the oral exam as well as in the written exam. We used class time to share questions and discuss types of questions as well as exam strategy. Individual conferences about the exams are not possible afterwards. The one and only chance to discuss oral and written state exams in Anglo-American Studies with me in person was during the exam colloquium. You can, however, add your questions and comments on the Blackboard blogs. I'll be adding my comments from time to time.

Impressum / Disclaimer
2.X.2013